The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) yesterday confirmed 16 Thai nationals are named in the Panama Papers but stopped short of accusing them of money laundering.
They are among 21 individuals on the list who are based in Thailand, said acting Amlo secretary-general Pol Col Seehanat Prayoonrat, who spoke at a news briefing yesterday.
He refused to give more details about the Thai nationals, pending confirmation of the information by Panamanian authorities and other agencies.
Many countries are believed to have been contacting Panama's anti-money laundering agency for the information, he said.
Amlo launched its investigation after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) recently revealed documents from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama, which was accused of providing consultancy services for people wanting to avoid taxes and launder money.
The records were obtained from an anonymous source by the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with the ICIJ.
Scores of politicians and political leaders worldwide were said to have used the company's services.
Pol Col Seehanat said Amlo has been in contact with anti-money laundering agencies from more than 150 countries concerning the information.
It also sought cooperation from the financial intelligence units of several countries, the ICIJ, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, asking them to share the relevant documents.
"May I ask for understanding given that we still have no official information," Pol Col Seehanat said, adding the investigation will be carried out secretly to make sure people's rights will not be violated.
According to the Amlo chief, it cannot conclude that individuals who set up companies in foreign countries are laundering money.
Money laundering involves the practice of using money gained from illicit businesses to finance other lawful operations, Pol Col Seehanat said.
Many companies, he said, decided to register new firms in foreign countries to avoid high tax payments back home, and this is not illegal, he said.
It may be unethical but this is a matter for each country to consider, he said.
Amlo also searched through the ICIJ's offshore leaks database, released on its website in 2013, and found the names of 780 individuals and juristic persons located in Thailand, who had offshore holdings in tax havens worldwide.
They were narrowed down to 719 as 61 names were duplicates.
The list consisted of 411 Thai nationals, 262 foreigners and 46 juristic persons.
The acting Amlo chief said that 418 were based in Bangkok, followed by 88 in Phuket, 15 in Nonthaburi and 13 in Pattaya.
Without an initial probe, Amlo cannot ascertain whether these people have breached the anti-money laundering law, Pol Col Seehanat said, adding the agency can examine their assets only when there are grounds to believe they are involved in money laundering.
According to Pol Col Seehanat, in the past, Amlo found that a foreign executive working at a Thai company, who was also in the ICIJ's database, committed fraud and siphoned money overseas by opening up a new firm, in what is viewed as money laundering.
Amlo conducted a secret probe into this person and eventually managed to seize the alleged offender's assets.
